Ursa Major raised $138 million at the close of its Series D and D-1 funding rounds. Explorer 1 Fund and Eclipse led the investor group that includes RTX‘s (NYSE: RTX) investment arm, BlackRock-managed funds and accounts, Exor Ventures, Mack & Co. and other institutional shareholders.
With the fresh funds, the independent rocket propulsion provider said Thursday it would continue developing Lynx, its new solid rocket motor program, while scaling production capacity and advancing multiple propulsion programs.
Ursa Major completed the initial Series D round early and extended its fund-raising activity with Series D-1 due to a strong interest in accelerating the development of several future programs.
Ursa Major has secured significant commercial and government customers since the last funding round, according to CEO and founder Joe Laurienti. The company also delivered engines, introduced new concepts and worked to address critical gaps in the nation’s defense.
He continued, “This investment will support scaling our production capacity to meet strong market demand, as well as continued technology innovation for our medium- and heavy-weight propulsion systems.”
Meanwhile, Greg Reichow, partner at Eclipse and former vice president of production at Tesla, commented, “Ursa Major propulsion systems fill a critical gap in the defense industrial base today.” He added that reliable rocket propulsion is critical to maintaining the space supply chain and growing the space industry.
